Geoff Hoon: I was ‘showing off’ on lobbying secret film

Geoff Hoon, the former Cabinet minister, has claimed that he was ‘showing off’
when he was secretly filmed offering to use his political contacts to make
money.

Geoff Hoon and three senior ex-ministers were shown on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme discussing how they could work for a fake American firmPhoto: EPA

9:38AM GMT 26 Mar 2010

The former defence secretary, caught out in a sting by journalists posing as lobbyists, apologised for his actions but defended his right to seek work as he “served his notice period” from Parliament.

He was one of three senior ex-ministers suspended by the Labour Party this week after they were shown on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme discussing how they could work for a fake American firm.

In the first comment by any of the MPs caught up in the scandal since the programme was aired, Mr Hoon said that he apologised “unreservedly” to anyone who felt let down by his behaviour.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: "I certainly got it wrong, I should have known better. I have paid a considerable price since then for the mistake I made in agreeing to what I thought was a private conversation.

"I obviously didn't know that that private conversation was being filmed and recorded for broadcast and I shouldn't have said some of the things that I did say.

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"I recognise that I was guilty of showing off, I think is the best expression that I could use. I was trying to impress, I was trying to demonstrate my knowledge and experience, background in a particular sector.

"I certainly would unreservedly apologise to anyone who feels that I have let them down. I have made clear that I got it wrong."

Mr Hoon, who had already announced that he would stand down from Parliament at the forthcoming general election, said that he thought that most constituents would understand that he needed to seek new employment while serving his “notice period” as an MP.

Despite the generous pensions and retirement grants that they receive, Mr Hoon said that as a former chief whip he was aware that many struggled for “years” to find new jobs after leaving Parliament.

He admitted that the House of Commons had been tainted by the lobbying and expenses scandals, and said that he was looking forward to starting a new life after leaving Parliament.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Mr Hoon had been asked to step down from a key post on a Nato committee, having boasted on the Channel 4 film that he had used a trip to Washington DC as part of his work for the international organisation to drum up private work.

Gordon Brown and senior Labour figures have been highly critical of Mr Hoon, Stephen Byers, the former transport secretary, and Patricia Hewitt, an ex-health secretary, who were also caught up in the sting.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has said that John Butterfill, MP for Bournemouth West and the only Tory to appear on the film, will never receive a peerage.

Margaret Moran, the disgraced Labour backbencher, was shown offering to begin work straight away for the firm, while her office turned down a request for a meeting with a constituent on the grounds that she was too ill.